New research suggests that dinosaurs may help scientists make important discoveries about cancer.
By using new technology to study soft tissue preserved in dinosaur bones, researchers believe they could learn more about how diseases like cancer have evolved—and even find clues for future treatments in humans.
Scientists from Anglia Ruskin University and Imperial College London used advanced tools to examine fossils of a duck-billed dinosaur called Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus.
This plant-eating dinosaur lived about 66 to 70 million years ago in what is now Romania.
While studying the fossil, researchers discovered structures that looked like red blood cells inside the dinosaur’s bone.
The team used a high-powered microscope called a scanning electron microscope to identify these tiny shapes, which resembled erythrocytes—the scientific name for red blood cells.
These low-density structures are important because they suggest that soft tissue and cell components might survive much longer in fossils than scientists used to believe.
The technique the researchers used is called paleoproteomics. This method helps scientists find ancient proteins, which can last much longer than DNA. Proteins are more stable and are often preserved in bones, which means they can carry valuable information about ancient life.
By analyzing these proteins, scientists hope to learn more about what kinds of diseases dinosaurs had, including cancer.
In fact, a different study had already found signs of cancer in Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, showing that the disease has been around for millions of years.
Dinosaurs, because they were large and lived long lives, are an interesting group to study when it comes to understanding how cancer worked in the past—and possibly how it could be treated in the future.
This new study shows that soft tissues in fossils—like red blood cells and proteins—can provide deep insights into ancient diseases.
These findings go beyond what bones alone can tell us. Because of this, the scientists say it’s important for museums and researchers to carefully collect and preserve not just dinosaur skeletons but also any soft tissues found in fossils.
As technology continues to improve, these preserved tissues may lead to major discoveries in medicine.
Professor Justin Stebbing, one of the lead authors, says the research shows how studying ancient proteins could help scientists understand the biological roots of diseases like cancer.
He hopes that more fossils with soft tissue will be conserved, so future studies can continue uncovering secrets from the past that may one day help save lives.
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Source: KSR.
